Toyota may jump into heavy-duty truck market with 7.0L diesel

While Toyota is busy pouring cash into expanding battery production capacity for hybrid vehicles, they apparently haven't forgotten about the other end of their lineup. There remains the possibility that Toyota could add a heavy duty pickup to the Tundra lineup to compete with similar offerings from Ford, GM and Chrysler. Having noticed the popularity of diesel engines in those big trucks, Toyota is reportedly preparing a new 7.0L diesel V8 for the monster truck. If it comes to pass - perhaps as soon as 2011-12 - the big diesel would join a smaller unit in the light duty Tundra. That diesel announced at this years Detroit Auto Show is likely to be based on the 4.5L diesel that Toyota already offers in other markets in the Land Cruiser. Frankly, this seems like a bad time for Toyota to enter the heavy duty truck market. That segment is shrinking rapidly as the commercial buyers who are the main market for such trucks are being hit hard by the implosion of the real estate bubble and rising fuel prices. It seems unlikely that this truck and engine will ever come to market unless Toyota is really itching to stick it to the domestic manufacturers.

[Source: Inside Line, via Autoblog]